The game is a match-three puzzler that takes you on a tropical journey as ecologist Dr. Evan Finch. You’ll be responsible for restoring the mysterious land of Isabela to its former glory and beauty by collecting resources to revive the island’s plant life, create a thriving animal kingdom, and uncover lost and ancient artifacts of the a lost Galapagos civilization.

The game offers cross-platform multiplayer for those that wish to challenge their friends, either iPad to iPad or from iPad to iPhone. If you like the gameplay of the base pack, you can also unlock the Paradise Nights bonus pack, which includes 20 more levels. This is an in-game micro-transaction, not included in the base purchase price of the game, which happens to be $2.99.

“The iPad provides so many innovative gaming capabilities, including hi-def resolution and a large, user-friendly touch screen, and we wanted to make sure our first game for the device would really take advantage of these features,” said Tony Leamer, VP of Marketing at I-play, via a company press release.  “With Paradise Quest such a great success on both the PC and iPhone, we believe that its revolutionary twist on Match-3 gameplay, where players use matches to move around and explore the board, is perhaps an even better fit for the iPad.”

To download the game, head over to the App Store (note, it is also available in a Lite version, for those that wish to take the game for a test drive before actually purchasing it). 

Related posts:

1. Enter to Win an iPad from I-Play
2. Super Monkey Ball 2: Sakura Edition Rolls its Way Onto iPad
3. How To Play On Your iPad

The game follows Lyra, who finds herself trapped in another dimension on the day before her 18th birthday. Guided by letters written by her father Fidget, Lyra must find the Clockmaker, who can help her restore time and return home.

This installment contains 14 scenes and five different magical powers with which Lyra can solve various puzzles. There are also two difficulty levels to choose from – Casual and Challenge.

The game will be available in both a Standard Edition and a Collector’s Edition. The Standard Edition is available now for $6.99 from PlayFirst’s website. Meanwhile, the Collector’s Edition, which is available for $19.99, contains an extra hour of gameplay, a walkthrough, the game’s soundtrack, exclusive artwork, wallpapers and a screensaver, along with a sneak peek at the next chapter in the trilogy: Dream Chronicles: the Book of Water.

To download either version, make sure to head over to PlayFirst’s website.

Related posts:

1. PlayFirst Announces Launch Date For Dream Chronicles: Book of Air
2. Puzzle Chronicles Now Available on PS3, Windows PC, and Xbox 360
3. Dream Day Wedding: Bella Italia Now Available from I-Play

This time around, you’ve become trapped in an abandoned village high in the mountains due to a sudden and unexpected rock slide. To escape the deserted and mysterious village you will need to find over 2,000 hidden objects and solve puzzles in 25 different locations. Your overall goal is to find map fragments that will ultimately combine to show you your way out. At first you will be playing in Escape the Valley mode, but bonuses gained while finding objects will allow you to unlock the two additional modes: Unlimited Seek & Find and Mystery Bonus Game.

HOG fans and veterans will be familiar with the game mechanics: each new environment will present you with a gorgeously realized image that you must find objects and clues in. Whisper Valley grants you a point bonus for finding objects quickly in succession and offers unlimited hints. Hints must be paid for with points, so use them wisely. All in all, if you like HOG’s, you’ll love this new offering. You can buy Escape Whisper Valley for $19.95 here or download a free 60 minute trial.

Related posts:

1. PopCap Unveils Mystery P.I. – The London Caper
2. Get All 48 PopCap Games for Under $100
3. Popcap Says New Blitz Game Coming Soon

Voters can select their first, second and third favorite game from 12 different titles. Don’t see a game you think should be on the list? There’s an option to write in your favorite 2009 game as well. The games up for the award are:

• Burger Shop 2
• Campfire Legends – The Hookman
• Delicious – Emily’s Taste of Fame
• Escape Rosecliff Island
• Jewel Quest Mysteries – Trail of the Midnight Heart
• Liong – The Lost Amulets
• Mystery P.I. – Lost in Los Angeles
• Plants vs Zombies
• Princess Isabella – A Witch’s Curse
• The Treasures of Montezuma 2
• Totem Tribe
• Zuma’s Revenge! – Adventure

While voting you can optionally enter the Great Game Player’s Choice Award Sweepstakes. Entry is simple, requiring your name, address, email and phone number with only one requirement: the sweepstakes is only offered in the 50 United States. The winner will get to present the Player’s Choice Award in Seattle on July 19th at the Great Game Awards ceremony. Additionally, the winner will receive roundtrip airfare and transportation for 2 to Seattle, accommodations for 4 nights, 2 V.I.P. passes to the ceremony, 2 passes to Casual Connect Seattle 2010, $500 spending money, a free 1-year FunPass membership, and a $500 donation to a charity of their choice. That’s a long list of winnings! Vote and enter here.

Related posts:

1. GDC Online To Host First Annual Game Developers Choice Online Awards
2. Second Annual Shorty Awards Will Be Held March 3rd
3. Four Lessons Learned from Casual Connect 2010

The game plays in much the same way as its predecessor (Puzzle Quest: Galactrix notwithstanding – this is actually a true sequel to the original, not the above spin-off), but with a few slight differences. In terms of basic movement, your character can now be presented inside buildings and the like, rather than simply hovering over buildings on a two-dimensional map. That is, instead of simply walking or riding your mount from one city to another and tapping a button to fight, you’ll now open doors, descend stairs and so on, in order to enter combat. In our demo, we walked down a flight of stairs and were met with a Rat Swarm, for instance.

Enemies come with different amounts of hit points by default, and as usual, the stronger enemy normally gets the first move in combat. You’ll destroy orbs on the board by combining groups of three or more like-colored orbs, which translates to mana, with their being five colors on the board this time around (purple, green, red, blue and yellow) rather than four.

Where there used to be purple stars (experience points) and coin stacks on the board in the last game, which could be destroyed to instantly add to your totals of both, there are now black gloves, which build up action points for you to be able to use your weapons and shields. In the first game, they simply gave off stats to you in combat, but weren’t interactive. You’ll have to rack up enough action points, specific to a particular item, in order to be able to use it. There’s nothing making you take part in this new feature, but it’s there if you want to add more strategy to your gameplay.

Otherwise, the game functions as you’d expect – the mana you collect can be used to perform various spells, like those that perform instant damage to your enemy without ending your turn, and those that change every orb of one color to another color, and do damage to your enemy relative to the number of orbs that were changed. For instance, one spell in particular changes all yellow orbs to purple orbs. If you changed 15 yellow orbs to purple, you would do 15 points of damage to your enemy, so long as they don’t block the attack with their shield (which drops the amount of damage taken).

Puzzle Quest 2 will launch on both the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo DS sometime next Spring. We’ll be sure to bring you continuing coverage about both games as more information becomes available. For now, though, check out the rest of our coverage from this year’s E3.

Related posts:

1. FreeAppADay for 06/12/10: Puzzle Quest – Chapters 1 & 2
2. Puzzle Quest 2: Mage Trainer Now Playable on Facebook
3. Puzzle Quest 2 Website Now Live

The “normal” version of the game will be out in “2-3 weeks”, according to PlayFirst’s website. The version launching early on the 24th will be a Collector’s Edition, containing the game plus extra bonuses. The extras will include a bonus quest with an additional location, 7 extra puzzles, and 5 pieces of new artwork; the soundtrack in MP3 form; a game walkthrough, screensaver, and wallpapers; a sneak peak of the next game in the series, titled Dream Chronicles: The Book of Water.

The Book of Air occurs ten years after the last entry, The Chosen Child. For the first time players will be able to play as Faye’s daughter Lyra, solving puzzles to find a way out of a strange dimension and back home. Dream Chronicles: The Book of Air is the first game in a new trilogy.

Related posts:

1. Dream Chronicles: The Book of Air Now Available
2. Puzzle Chronicles Now Available on PS3, Windows PC, and Xbox 360
3. Dream Day Wedding: Bella Italia Now Available from I-Play

You can find the deal right here. It’s unknown just how long the special deal will be available, so I’d jump on it as quickly as possible.

Related posts:

1. Bejeweled Blitz Apologizes for Downtime with 50% Off Bejeweled 2
2. Bejeweled Turns 10, Continues to Be Awesome
3. Purchase Bejeweled Blitz, Get a Free Strategy Guide

In Max & the Magic Marker, you play as the titular Max, a child who receives a magic marker in the mail. The pictures he draws with the marker come to life, including the villain he drew named Mustacho. Players guide Max through his own drawings on a quest to stop Mustacho. The game brings puzzle and platforming styles together. You will have to use the marker to direct Max and create bridges, shields, ramps, and other objects to get him past obstacles. You can also stop time, allowing you to evaluate the situation and adapt your strategy on the fly.

The graphics, platform-puzzling and creativity combine with the story to create a kid-friendly experience. According to Jinny, drawing things within the game invests children in the gaming experience as it allows them to not just play the game, but to create parts of it. The game is available on PC, Mac, and WiiWare.

Related posts:

1. Max & the Magic Marker to Challenge Your Creativity This March
2. Press Play Releases Max & the Magic Marker on WiiWare
3. Sam & Max Creators Unveil New Multi-Platform Game

This week’s game is Mystic Diary: Lost Brother, a hidden object game with a Victorian setting that sees you searching for your lost brother using the Mystic Diary to travel the world, all the while solving mini-puzzles and, of course, hunting for objects. To take advantage of the sale, you’ll simply need to enter a code, CATCH229, on Playfirst’s website as you attempt to purchase the game.

For more information about Mystic Diary: Lost Brother, or to take advantage of this deal for yourself, head over to Playfirst’s website.

Related posts:

1. PlayFirst Announces Launch Date For Dream Chronicles: Book of Air
2. PlayFirst Announces Diner Dash: Grilling Green for iPad
3. PlayFirst Looks to Adopt New Strategy for 2010

The sale originally began as a sort of Mother’s Day celebration, but when visiting the game’s website, we see that the deal has been extended until May 12, giving you plenty of time yet to gather the $4.95 necessary to purchase the game, should such a thing interest you.

For those that are unfamiliar, Zuma challenges you with shooting individual marbles into like-colored marbles in a constantly moving chain, that travels down a set path, with each path becoming more complex the further you progress in the game. The marbles are destroyed when you make a match of three or more, and a slew of different power-ups help in your strategy therein.

Zuma normally costs $19.95, so the savings here are nothing to scoff at. To purchase the game, or to learn more information, head over to PopCap’s official website.

Related posts:

1. Casual Friday: PopCap Announced Zuma Blitz for Facebook, I-play Takes on the Great Gatsby
2. FreeAppADay for 07/01/10: Marbles Multiball 3D – The Castle Adventure
3. PopCap Launches Free PopCap Passport Program